GT Cup Open Europe: Season's best for Laura Van Den Hengel and Alba Vazquez at Barcelona

Laura Van Den Hengel and Alba Vazquez achieved their best finish of the season so far in GT Cup Open Europe, securing fourth in the AM class at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona after a strong recovery drive in Race 2, showing great consistency in a weekend marked by tyre management.

Photo credits: Andres Pardo Gomez

Laura van den Hengel and Alba Vazquez achieved their best finish to date in GT Cup Open Europe with a fourth place in class at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, the fifth round of the series. Their remarkable recovery in Sunday's race, following a difficult Saturday, saw the Mertel Motorsport all-female duo climb the ranks to the doorstep of the AM class podium and the overall top ten.

After an unfortunate round at Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France, where the duo displayed impressive speed, highlighted by a superb qualifying effort from Van Den Hengel, unfortunately their weekend was cut short by technical issues in both races.

Despite the setbacks, Van Den Hengel and Vazquez had displayed significant progress this season, their first full campaign in GT Cup Open Europe. Van Den Hengel, who made the leap from karting to GT competitions in 2023, had only made a couple of appearances before this year. Driving the #83 Ferrari 488 Challenge operated by the German team Mertel Motorsport, the all-female duo have steadily climbed the AM class, closing in on a podium finish.

The duo claimed their first top-five finish at Spa Francorchamps and were on course for a better result at Le Castellet before being denied by mechanical issues. Their progress has been evident in both qualifying and race stints, with Van Den Hengel often making up several positions in the races.

Heading to Barcelona for Vazquez's home race, the team was optimistic after a strong pre-season test, where they recorded highly competitive times. During Thursday's practice, it was immediately clear that they had the potential to challenge at the top of the AM class and the overall top ten: Van Den Hengel set a 1:48.012, leading the class times and placing third overall.

"We had practice on Thursday and it went really well", Laura told us. "We felt there was speed and we were not far behind the top - it was within the second, that was really fine."

On Friday, the team focused on setup work and older tyre runs. However, most of the Ferraris struggled with severe tyre degradation, likely influenced by the BoP, while seven Porsches dominated the top-7 of the AM class. Tyre management would therefore became the central focus for the weekend.

Nevertheless, the team continued to experiment with setups, and the drivers prepared for the first qualifying session on Saturday morning.

"It was good testing because we did try so many different setups and also tyre pressure", Van Den Hengel continued. "But still it was so hard to find the right setup on the worn out tyres."

Photo credits: Andres Pardo Gomez

Van Den Hengel took over driving duties for Q1 after a very promising practice on the new tyres. It was a sunny day in Barcelona, with a strong 25-car field ready to fight for pole in a series that becomes increasingly competitive at every round.

A red flag halted the session within the first minute when Eric Wagner's EF Racing Porsche went off at Turn 7. Once the session resumed, Van Den Hengel set a strong first lap of 1:46.390, placing her second overall and first in the AM class. She improved further on her second lap, shaving off two-tenths, and maintained the class lead until Ivan Jacoma topped her time with 10 minutes to go.

A mistake in the final corner prevented Van Den Hengel from breaking the 1:46 barrier, and as the peak performance of her tyres faded, she finished P11 overall and fourth in the AM class. It was another stunning qualifying performance, just one-tenth away from third place and within reach of a class podium and overall top ten.

"I was about to do a 1:45.8, but I made a big mistake in the final corner which cost me three tenths", Laura said. "So that hurts, and it's something I have to take into consideration for the next races and season. That was painful, but still it was a great time."

Van Den Hengel started Race 1 from 11th on the grid and 4th in the AM class, hoping to recover from previous rounds where misfortune had marred their performance. At the green flag, she was boxed in at Turn 1, but despite the traffic, she managed to hold her position.

She immediately tried to put pressure on Ripoli ahead, all while carefully managing her tyres to avoid the severe degradation that had been affecting most Ferraris over the weekend.

Van Den Hengel soon found herself battling not only Ripoli but also defending from Nicolas Vandierendock’s #57 Porsche, who was pushing from behind.

The intense pressure resulted in her losing out to the Porsche on lap 2, dropping her to P12 overall. Not long after, Tincescu's #21 Porsche joined the fray, forcing her to drop another spot. The Ferrari was clearly struggling with tyre wear, and Laura had to balance maintaining her pace while defending from the faster cars behind.

On lap 5, a collision between Innocenti and Zaenen at the final corner resulted in both cars stranded in the gravel, triggering a safety car. This neutralization helped to reset the field and brought Laura back into the game, promoting her to 10th overall. In the AM class, Dieter Svepes was leading while in P3 overall, while Ripoli, Vandierendock, Tincescu, and Van Den Hengel remained within striking distance for the podium positions.

When the safety car pulled in and the race resumed on lap 8, Van Den Hengel found herself in the thick of the action: into Turn 1, the overall leaders Ludwig and Al Rifai were engaged in a fierce battle, allowing Svepes to sneak past into P2 overall. Laura struggled at the restart and lost three positions, dropping to P15 overall and 8th in class.

Despite the setback, Van Den Hengel showed her trademark fighting spirit, picked up the pace, clocking faster lap times than several cars ahead of her, including those who had passed her during the restart. By lap 10, she was back in the rhythm, setting competitive times and regaining her lost ground.

The pit window opened on lap 12, and Laura stayed out for another lap, then pitted from P10 overall and P6 in class; the #83 Ferrari was handed over to her teammate, Alba Vazquez, for the final push.

Vazquez rejoined the race in P11 in class, with steady pace but a lot of ground to make up. Alba settled into her rhythm, running consistently in the 1:50 mark. On lap 16, she moved up to 10th in class and continued to chase the Porsche ahead, driven by Luciano Micale. Over the next two laps, she gained two full seconds on Micale and was right on his tail by lap 18.

With 13 minutes to go, the safety car was deployed again when Jorge Cabezas’ Mertel Ferrari ended up in the gravel, creating an opportunity for Vazquez to close the gap further. The safety car period also allowed Privitelio’s Lamborghini to close in on Alba, although the Lamborghini would later be handed a 6-second penalty for not respecting the minimum pit stop time.

The race resumed with five minutes to go. Vazquez had a clean restart and immediately attacked Micale but found herself losing a position to Privitelio. After some late-race drama involving multiple incidents and contacts, Vazquez managed to reclaim 9th in class on the final lap. Due to Privitelio’s penalty, she was promoted to 8th in class and finished 15th overall.

Despite the high tyre deg, the Mertel all-female duo delivered a solid race to secure a respectable finish.

"Saturday's race was really hard", Van Den Hengel said. "There was a lot of fighting because I didn't quite have the speed, the tyres were completely gone and the Porsches were so much faster", she summarized. "I was just fighting to hold position and also had to drive smart to handle the understeering problem, knowing where I have more traction, more torque."

"In the end when I was not pushed off the track, it would save me a lot of places to just be smart in the race. It was my first race where I lost positions, so I wasn't happy knowing that I could be in the top ten."

Photo credits: Fotospeedy

On Sunday morning, it was Alba Vazquez’s turn to take charge in qualifying. Under clear skies and chilly conditions, she lined up in the #83 Ferrari 488 Challenge for Q2. Vazquez quickly found her rhythm and put in a good initial lap, placing herself within the overall top ten. She followed up with a 1:48.4, which was enough to slot her into the top five in the AM class.

As the session progressed, times started to tumble; the team brought Vazquez in for a pit stop and sent her back out with five minutes remaining, hoping for one final push. Unfortunately, a red flag caused by the #21 Porsche of Camil Perian brought the session to an early end. As a result, Alba would start from 10th in the AM class and P19 overall in the second race on Sunday afternoon.

At the start, the leaders went four-wide into Turn 1, but everyone made it through the first corners cleanly; Alba lost three positions, falling to P13 in class. Determined to recover, she immediately began to attack the #25 ZRS Porsche driven by Presezzi at La Caixa. However, she was forced to back off..

Drama soon hit one of the championship contenders, the #67 Porsche of Matteo Luvisi, who suffered a puncture, allowing Vazquez to gain P22 overall on the second lap. Her lap times improved as she closed in on the cars ahead, steadily running in the 1:52 mark. By lap 4, she was right behind Micale’s Porsche, fighting for P12 in class.

As she gained confidence, her efforts paid off when a collision between Roberto Fecchio and Luciano Micale at Turn 4 brought out the safety car again, with both cars stranded in the gravel. This allowed Vazquez to gain two positions and return to her starting place, P10 in class.

The clock ticked down, and the race restarted with just over 30 minutes remaining. Vazquez attacked Presezzi’s #92 Porsche before pitting for the mandatory driver change on lap 11, handing the car over to Van Den Hengel.

Laura rejoined the race in 11th in class and 19th overall - and immediately set a 1:48.533, marking the car’s fastest lap so far. She was on a mission to catch the cars ahead, particularly Nicolas Vandierendonck in the #57 Porsche. Over the next few laps, she consistently gained time, lapping in the 1:49 mark and closing the gap to Vandierendonck - while always managing her tyres.

On lap 22, a drama unfolded when Jacoma and Lobera collided at Turn 4, leaving fluid on the track. Several cars, including Vandierendonck and Zelger, slid off the track. Van Den Hengel, staying smartly off-line, avoided the chaos and climbed to fifth place just as the safety car was deployed once more with five minutes to go.

With the clock running out and the race ending under caution, Van Den Hengel held onto her position, crossing the finish line in P4 in class and P11 overall. It was an amazing result for the duo, marking their best finish of the season.

"There was oil in front of me and I was the only one who avoided it, so that gained me three or four places", Laura explained. "So that was really okay, although I wasn't really able to push [in my stint] as you already feel the tyre pressure increasing and I had to manage it."

"I went from P20 or P19 to eleventh eventually. I think it was very consistent - I tried to keep it fairly stable in lap times and just not make any mistakes, and I didn't. There were a lot of positive things for the weekend."

"I've made a lot of strides", she continued, analyzing the progress from the start of the season. "This was mentally my best race ever because of the pressure of the Porsches. They bumped me, they knocked me off the track, everything happened. But I still kept my head calm and I still managed to not lose too much. I honestly think that I made the best out of it."

"Mentally, I worked really hard over the summer, and I think that one is the biggest step at the moment."

The result not only showcased their progress throughout the year but also provided momentum heading into the final round at Monza. Van Den Hengel, having raced at the Italian circuit in 2023 with two class top-tens, will be looking to build on this success and aim for an even better result in the season finale.

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza will host the sixth and final round of the GT Cup Open Europe season on 19-20 October.

Photo credits: Fotospeedy / Gianluca Sciarra